How to choose a Baby Car Seat

One of the most important things you will buy for your kid is a good car seat. From the moment you take your child home from the hospital, you will need a car seat. And it is recommended that you continue to use this car seat for the child until it attains the age, usually 8 or later, at which it can fit into a car’s seat belt.

Consequently, the most worrisome thing is that most parents don’t install car seats correctly. And improperly installed car seats can leave a child vulnerable to an accident. For this reason, you not only have to know what type of car seat there are and how to choose a good one but also learn how to install them correctly.

Before you buy a car seat, you must make sure that the car seat has passed all Federal Safety Standards. Most of the time, the manufacturer will have crash tested the car seat before putting it on the market. So, either a label is attached showing that information, or the information is included in the product description.

One limitation is that you shouldn’t just buy any baby car seat because it has been stated on the label that the car seat meets Federal Safety Standards in a 30 mph crash test. Look at the reputation of the manufacturer: if it is a well-known brand with a good track record, you can purchase the car seat, but if the brand is not well known, you need to research the company properly.

Another thing you need to do is determine whether the car seat will be easy to use. Most car seats are not difficult to handle. However, you should read reviews on the car seat and deduce whether it is easy for the average parent to handle the buckles and straps.

If reviews are not available, which is rare, you can look at the instructions for the car seat. Often, the instruction manual for a car seat can be viewed even without buying it. If the instructions are clear, or you figure out that it will be easy to manage the buckles and straps, then installing the car seat properly will be easy later on.

One other thing you need to look at is whether the unit you are buying will fit well into your vehicle. Most time, you don’t have to see the car seat physically to determine if it will fit your car seat or not. You can ask friends who have used the same model how it fared or read online reviews about the product – most users will mention the make and model of their car and describe how well the car seat fits into the vehicle.

Therefore, the safest car seat is not one that is expensive or made from high-quality materials – although these things count – but one that fits your child properly and is installed correctly and securely every single time.

What Type of Car Seat Should I Choose?

When you are considering buying a new car seat, you have to consider the age, height, and weight of your kid. If you are a new parent, for example, you need to start with an infant car seat and then transition to a convertible car seat as your child grows. The following are the different models and at what age they are meant for your child:

Infant Car Seats

If you are a new parent, this is the first car seat you will buy. This type of car seat can only be installed in a rear-facing position to keep your young one safe in the event of a crash. Infant car seats usually come with a removable carrier that connects to a base in your car.

Depending on the model, it can be used for children from 4 pounds to 40 pounds. It provides the best fit for small babies and newborns.

Often, you will need the transition from an infant car seat once your child overgrows it – this is when your child’s height exceeds the height limit of the car seat. Infant car seat usually cost from $40 to $300.

Convertible Car Seats

Convertible car seats can be installed forward- or rear-facing and they are usually the next car seat that you will likely purchase once your child outgrows its infant car seat.

While the harness system in convertible car seats is similar to those of infant car seats, they usually have a higher weight limit. Experts have recommended that you should use the car as rear-facing if your child is less than 20 lbs. and younger than one year.

Use it rear-facing till your child is 40-50 lbs. Some states stipulate that your child must be older than two before using it as forward-facing. Price ranges from $40 to $400.

Booster Seat

Booster seats come with a child’s car seat belt. You should purchase one when your child outgrows the height and weight limit of a convertible car seat. Once installed, it raises the child so that seat belt can fit properly which is achieved when the seat belt is at the center of the collarbone and low across the upper thighs.

If the belt is over the neck or across the abdomen, the booster is not correctly installed. You can expect to get a booster seat from $13 to $300.

Conclusion

Other models include All-in-One Car seats, which are designed to take a child from infant car seat to child booster seat – growing with the child. This type of car seat can be a money saver, and most parents would prefer them. But why haven’t we included it up there? This is because they try to do many things, and studies have found that they fail at all of them.

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One response to “How to choose a Baby Car Seat”

[…] As new parents, it can be tricky to choose the best type of car seat for our children. With the help of the Internet, we can now find the best selling car seats in the market. It’s easier to see why they are considered the best of the best by other parents all over the world. To narrow down your search from these ten options, here are some tips in choosing a baby car seat. […]

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